Reviews and Notices
69
alizing the conference, which, as Lockridge says, united the
Miamis and the Illinois to resist the aggressions of the Iroquois. I will also add that the grand old tree is an object of
the greatest solicitude and its life will, by constant expert attention be prolonged to the very limit, to the end that future
generations will have the pleasure of standing under its wide
spreading branches and realizing the part it played in the picturesque and dramatic episode there enacted in May 1681.
My friendship with and admiration for the author as a man
and as a historian whom I hold in high esteem, do not in the
slightest degree color my judgment of his La Salle. If h e were
an utter stranger to me, my estimate of the book would be the
same as I have expressed. I am proud to place it on my shelves
along with his 4 . Lincoln and his George Rogers Clark and all
the rest. It is a lovely tale beautifully told and it should have
wide reading and, as we are now, this year, observing the
Quarto-millennia1 of La Salle’s greatest achievement which
took place on the soil of this state, the book under review is
particularly timely and I trust its reading will awaken a new
interest in our first Hoosier.
OTTOM. KNOBLOCK
Johnny Appleseed and H i s T i m e , a n Historical Romance. By
HENRYA. PERSHING.
Shenandoah Publishing House,
Strasburg (Virginia), 1930. Pp. xxf379, illustrated.
This is the first complete biography ever written of John
Chapman, who was known to the settlers of Ohio and Indiana
as Johnny Appleseed. It was the purpose of the author to
weave the facts and legends about Johnny Appleseed into an
historical romance. The author had no intention of writing a
book that would stand successfully the test of historical criticism, but one that would enlighten the general reader as to the
real contribution of Johnny Appleseed to the middle west. The
author writes in a n entertaining manner, and his survey of the
life of this interesting character is as comprehensive as could
be expected in this type of work.
The career of Johnny Appleseed is one of the most interesting and unique in the history of the middle west. He has
been called the “patron saint of the American orchard.” This
picturesque man, who for forty-six years planted appleseeds in
the middle west, appeals to the imagination. He first appeared
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Indiana Magazine of History
in Ohio about 1801. He kept ahead of the settlers and each
year planted his seeds farther west. In this way he covered
most of Ohio and came far into Indiana. He died near Fort
Wayne in 1847. It was due to the untiring efforts of Johnny
Appleseed that many people settling in Indiana and Ohio during the first quarter of the 19th century found orchards waiting for them. Johnny Appleseed led a busy life planting nurseries, teaching farmers apple culture, assisting them in caring
for their orchards, and preaching the Swedenborgian religion
at the same time. This strange character did a great deal toward making the lives of the settlers of Indiana and Ohio pleasant and endurable. The people of both states owe him a debt
of gratitude.
Mr. Pershing has not been unduly careful in his handling of
chronology, to say the least. In his zeal to do his character
justice he has committed several errors. His account of Johnny
Appleseed’s experiences with Daniel Boone will hardly stand
rigid investigation. He relates that Johnny witnessed the
capture of Boone by the Shawnees and tells of their effort to
make him a member of the tribe. It is true that Boone did undergo such an experience, but it was in 1778 when John Chapman was a mere boy in his New England home. It is also very
doubtful whether Johnny Appleseed covered as much territory
and was a participant in so many of the great events of the
day as Mr. Pershing gives him credit for in his narrative.
There is no mention of Johnny Appleseed in the papers of William Henry Harrison although the author assigns him an important role in the battle of Tippecanw. These are examples
of what the reader must be on his guard against when reading
the book.
Mr. Pershing, however, has done a useful and laudable
work. His purpose in writing the biography was to instill in
the hearts of the people of the nation a real appreciation of the
life and work of Johnny Appleseed. The book, it can confidently be expected, will do this.
POWELL
MOORE
A Centennial Handbook covering the first one hundred
years (1830-1930) of the Indiana Historical Society appeared
late in 1930. This very useful and interesting pamphlet (In-